Jets at Capitals
Extra time has meant extra points of late for the Winnipeg Jets, who look to remain red-hot as they visit the Washington Capitals on Thursday night. The Jets are coming off back-to-back 5-4 shootout victories over the Detroit Red Wings and Edmonton Oilers, and have won three extra-time decisions as part of a streak that has seen them reel off four victories in five games. The Capitals are also on a roll of late, having prevailed in six of their last eight games.
The Winnipeg game plan should be simple: Stop Alex Ovechkin at all costs. But that will be easier said than done, given Ovechkin's career-long success versus the Jets-Thrashers franchise - the NHL goal-scoring leader has racked up 41 goals and 41 assists in just 55 career games against the club. And it won't help that Ovechkin comes in on one of his best runs of the season, having scored 10 goals over his last 11 games and 21 in his previous 23.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN3 (Winnipeg), CSN-DC (Washington)
ABOUT THE JETS (30-19-10): Winnipeg has spent plenty of time in the news lately, and the latest nugget is sure to leave Jets fans concerned. The team learned Wednesday it will be without forward Mathieu Perreault for the remainder of the regular season with what it is calling a "significant" lower-body injury suffered in the victory over the Oilers. "We've dealt with our injury adversity really well," coach Paul Maurice said. "So when a guy goes down, it doesn't shake up your room. We've seen it enough."
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (31-17-10): Washington has weathered its toughest stretch of the season, and now finds itself within striking distance of top spot in the Metropolitan Division with a favorable schedule the rest of the way. The Capitals will play 14 of their final 24 games at home, and coach Barry Trotz is pleased with the way his team has performed going into the stretch. "We've learned how to win games different ways, but we've learned to play," he said. "I think we've played very disciplined."
OVERTIME
1. Washington has won six straight meetings, scoring four or more goals five times in that span.
2. The Capitals are 4-0-0 in their last four home games following a road trip of seven or more days.
3. Winnipeg is 10-10 in extra-time games on the season, while Washington is 6-10.